Beautiful is the Beast
by OriSODEhime
Summary: Ringo Maruyama was a cold-hearted prince with no idea how to love. When he's transformed into a terrifying demon, who could ever free him and the entire castle from the curse? Try asking Hisana Kurosaki. After all, she IS the new prisoner to this malformed shinigami. A story between OC's. RingoxHisana. R&R! It gets a bit dark, so be warned before reading.
1. A Big Mistake

**Beautiful is the Beast**

_A Fiction by OriSODEhime_

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**1. A Big Mistake**

It was many years ago, in a far off land, one winter's eve. The sun had just set, and a vicious snowstorm fled throughout the mountainside that towered over a quaint village. A thick quilt of snow blanketed the ground, striking frostbite into all who treaded through the early night. Upon the sloping mountainside, there was a shining castle of white stone and elegant embellishments. Candlelights lit the windows from the inside, creating a most warm and humble atmosphere within the magnificent shelter.

However, the events about to turn out were not so warm, let alone humble. Slouched in the throne of the grand hall was the prince, with apple red hair and jade green eyes. His brow furrowed in deep concentration, fingers tapping at the armrest, his expression lacking any typical excitement of the season, a time of joy and generosity. All he ever cared about was himself; he had no attention to spare for the servants who tended to his every whim, let alone the tens of hundreds of guests socializing in the very room he was confined to for the time being.

The pitter patter of several pairs of buckled shoes did not draw even a remote notice of his interest. They came to a stop at the bottom of the steps before him, kneeling down before his royal highness.

"Good evening, your majesty!" a chorus of joyous voices rang out. Already knowing of the visitors, the prince pressed a hand to his face, fed up with such jubilant smiles he could make out in his peripheral vision.

"...What do the lot of you want?" In just one snide comment, he had already killed the mood, as the small group looked to each other with slightly questioning faces.

A man dressed to the nines in white and gold spoke up, moving his shaggy black bangs off of his forehead. His smile did not waver, however. "I'm glad you asked, your highness. We thought we would invite you to join the party. All the patrons are so very eager to greet you-"

"No."

"But, sire-"

"Do not make me repeat myself, Shiba. I have already made it quite clear that I do _not_ enjoy attending these pathetic events." The one referred to as Shiba silently groaned, stepping back and disappearing into the party crowd. Another with dark brown hair and blue eyes cleared his throat, standing a little more poised than the others.

"Would you at least like to open your presents before you depart for the night?"

"No."

"Then how about you feast on the extravagant feast we prepared, just for the occasion?"

_"No."_

"What about-" The prince slammed his hands down on the armrests and stood up, completely ignoring his servant. He made his way down the stairs, shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers, and making his way across the crowded floor. Those who took notice of the scowl on his face immediately coincided and stepped out of his way, as not to interfere in any other way.

Soon after he exited the room, there was a knock on the grand doors to the outside world. The prince had just about enough intrusions for one night. Marching his way over in the coal black boots, he swung open the door, looking down to the young little girl at the door. A grim frown crossed his face at the sight of her bony limbs, and the frail hands holding a basket in front of her.

"G-g-good e-evening, k-k-k-kind s-sir. M-m-may I p-pl-please...c-c-come i-in? It i-is awfully c-c-c-cold."

"Why should I let you in?" he questioned her. "What do you have to offer me in exchange?"

Her fingers grasped something small from the basket and pulled it out. Before his eyes was a beautiful white rose, its stem neatly trimmed of thorns and engraved with elegant swirls. "I-I have a b-b-b-b-beautiful r-rose," she stuttered through her chattering teeth. "Will this b-b-be e-e-e-enough?" For just a brief second, he could see her frosted blue eyes underneath the tattered hood that concealed her face.

He scoffed, a smirk just barely visible. With a swat of his hand, the rose had been knocked out of grasp and into the snow beside her. "You think that a simple _flower_—one with such a short life—would be enough to pay for refuge in a place like _this_? Please. I have come across travelers who would pay me in gold to come here for a mere few hours. Be on your way." Just as he was about to slam the door in her face, the petals began to illuminate one by one, until it was floating up in the air before him.

The girl threw back her hood to reveal milky white skin with bare blue patches of frostbite. Her eyes were beautiful, a color even bluer than the skies when they were clear. Her hair was the same color, silky and wavy in flowing locks around her shoulders. She grasped at the rose, and the rest of the palace was blinded by a sickly black light, like that of a dark lightning. The prince looked up at the white walls, which started to crumble, replaced by much darker stones. The seraph statues guarding the doors at the sides morphed their forms, until they became hideous gargoyles. Screaming echoed from inside the castle, a most grave sign.

_"There is no compassion in your heart,"_ she intoned to him. _"Unless you can find someone who will love you for who you are, you will be condemned to remain the demon you are for all eternity."_

**_"What kind of witchcraft is this?!"_** he shouted at her, his voice draining of his human-like quality. Several surges of pain ran throughout his body, and he fell to his knees, growling at the sheer force of the stinging sensation. His glance looked down, watching as his fingers extended into sharp black claws, and his apple red bangs grew down over his eyes and past his shoulders, already pitch black in color. Something ripped at his back in two sharp places, and he could feel his heart and eyes bleeding. Another blurry glance up showed that the mistress had disappeared, and lightning raged through the skies. The doors closed, and he fell limp, twitching as the pain came to a gradual, excruciating stop.

_"Master!"_ his servants called, hurrying up to him. The prince expected to see three or four humans in front of him, but all he could make out were a candelabra, a grandfather clock, and a broom.

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Well, that's it for Chapter One! Leave your reviews, and I'll be sure to upload more chapters soon!


	2. Is It Bad to be Different?

Finally! Chapter 2 is here~! Sorry it took so long. I kinda got caught up in school work and stuff. ^^; Anyways, you got a taste of the beast's beginning. Now it's time to check in on Hisana and her grandpa Isshin.

If you see any of these º throughout the story, then check the allusions at the bottom of the chapter for references and stuff like that.

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**2. Is It Bad to be Different?**

"'Scuse me-"

_"Watch where you're going!"_

"Sorry-"

_"Move it!"_

_"AH!"_ The basket in Hisana's arms fell from her grasp and spilt its contents all over the cobblestone street beneath her feet after several forceful shoves of the other villagers caused her to lose her balance. In a flustered frenzy, she knelt down and stretched out her arms to scoop up her newly bought belongings and hurriedly put them into the basket once more.

She could hear an ominous buzz amongst the crowd, mostly regarding her and her odd habits. From the word she had received, most thought she should be home cooking, cleaning, or tending to the farm instead of taking part in such mind-stimulating tasks like writing or drawing. She knew she was different, but never wanted to be considered a burden.

She quietly sighed and rose back to her feet, trying to blend back into the crowd on her way back home to the little house on the hill, separated from the rest of the town for obvious reasons.

The front door swung open upon her arrival home, and the basket was placed on the kitchen counter. She strolled over into the foyer, curiously glancing around for some sign of life. "Grandfather?" she chimed out.

_"Down here- GWAH!_" His sudden cry was accompanied by a loud pop and several sounds similar to that of a tree falling over. With widened eyes, Hisana made haste to the basement, sprinting down the stairs and into the smoke-filled cellar. She waved her hand, coughing and sputtering the exhaust away. When the fumes cleared, there was nothing amazing to behold, beside a hand sticking up from a pile of lumber.

Her grandfather rose from the debris, picking splinters out of his spiked black hair and fairly tanned skin. He removed the goggles from his chocolate brown eyes and smiled brilliantly at Hisana. "Hello, darling!"

"What in God's name _happened_ down here?!" she retorted in a panicked fashion, knowing she would soon regret the answer.

"Well," he wondered, scratching at the stubbles on his chin, "my new machine... That's what happened. It seemed to think that launching the lumber is exactly what I was looking for."

"It looks like an _oak tree_ exploded in here!"

A deep laugh exhaled from his mouth as he patted her redheaded scalp. "Au contraire, darling. It is supposed to neatly chop the wood into halves."

She attempted to fix her scraggly hair back into place, combing it out with her fingers. "No offense, Isshin, but we already have an axe, and... Well, enough firewood as is."

"Hisana, this is to make life easier for countrymen who already have too much work. That is why I'm making this for the county fair."

"Ah, yes. Now I remember." She took the broom against the wall in hand and began sweeping up the excess chunks of wood, moving them into a small pile in the corner of the room. Once done, she walked back over and took a look at the machine. _There's no reason to wonder how this thing broke down,_ she wondered. _Nothing looks wrong with it._ Her train of process was interrupted by a small gurgling noise sputtering from the exhaust pipe. She leaned over and peered down into it, finding not smoke, but something clogged inside. What in the world is that? She reached down two fingers and got a good grip on the substance, trying to free it. Alas, it didn't budge.

"Grandpa?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"I found the problem."

"You did?!"

"Yes, but it's stuck in the exhaust pipe."

"What? Stuck in the- Let me see that!" A hand shoved her aside while Isshin reached down, getting a better grip on the item. He yanked several times to no avail, having to place his foot against the side of the machine. "Come on, you stubborn piece of junk! Work with me here!" Finally, it came sliding out with a swift yank, and he fell back onto the floor head first. Disoriented, yet too excited to care, he rubbed his head, focusing on what he was holding.

"Is that your apron?" Hisana asked with a hand to her face out of disgrace. She turned back to the machine and sighed. "Oh, never mind. Now, let's see if this blasted contraption works! How do you turn it on?"

"Like _this_!" He pulled down a lever on the side as the gears started to function properly, and smoke sputtered out. An axe on the side chopped up and down in neat strokes, as logs of wood went flying into a basket on the other side of the room in neatly sliced chunks.

Hisana stared in amazement; her grandfather's inventions hadn't worked so well in weeks. _"It works!"_ she exclaimed with a sparkle in her eyes, tugging at his arm and pointing to the results.

Isshin also stared wide-eyed. "It works? Oh, my heavens! _It WORKS!_" He started cheering as tears welled up in his eyes, hands clasped together out of hope.

He was greeted by a big hug. "You're sure to win at the county fair this year!"

"Thank you, darling!" The two of them released and started to pack up the machine, folding it together by the hinges it was held by. "Now, what were you doing in the market today? Purchasing more paper and ink, I assume?"

"Heh, yeah," she responded, wiping a hint of sweat from her brow. "I was running low, so I thought I would restock. There are some groceries upstairs as well." Of course, she always loved drawing, though had her doubts about it. Considering all the weird glances she received from the other townspeople, she knew they considered it a bad thing.

Once the machine was fully packed up, she turned to her grandfather and cleared her throat. "Grandpa?" she asked with a slight stutter. "Is it bad that we're different?"

"Different?" He looked up with the goggles over his eyes. "Who says we're different? We're completely normal!" Just to prove so, he held up his wrench and placed a fist to his chest in a very Statue of Liberty-esque pose.

"Grandfather, I'm the only female artist º in town, and you're the only inventor. Half of your creations are pure genius...and half of them explode."

"Oh, please." He released his pose and started walking back upstairs with her. "This means we're original, one of a kind. Everyone else is just strange and...tasteless. _We're the normal ones, I tell you!_ Plus, there are some interesting people like us... Take the librarian, for instance."

A chuckle came out of her mouth as they entered the kitchen. "True, true... Well, I bet it's time for you to hit the road. Don't want to be late for the fair, right?"

"Ah, yes!" With that, Isshin was scrambling about the house getting ready, as Hisana humorously sighed.

Moments later, when the sun began to set, she was standing on the front porch, watching him load the machine onto a wooden cart attached to the rear end of their horse, Sumei º. Finally, he climbed atop, and looked back at his granddaughter. "I believe, we shall say farewell."

"You take care, alright?"

"I will, darling. I will." With that, he snapped the reins and rode off. "I should be back by the end of this week!" º He looked back with a wide smile, seeing her wave him goodbye.

"Good luck!"

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**Allusions**

Most of the characters from _Bleach: A New Generation_ {a full RP going on Gaia Online at the moment} will be featured in this story one way or another, as well as a canon character or two.

ºThe horse Sumei in this case is the equivalent to Hisana Kurosaki's zanpakuto, _Megami no Zetsumei_.

ºHisana Kurosaki is an extremely talented artist, which will have a significant importance in the story later on.

º"I should be back by the end of this week!" No he won't. Actually, we're not even going to read the part where he wandered into the castle and got thrown into the dungeon. Call me lazy, but I prefer to keep the majority of the oncoming characters a surprise for later on~.

Chapter 3 should be up and running soon~!


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